Galveston Fishing Report

                                                Galveston Fishing Charter Company
                                                          832-917-FISH(3474)                      
www.galvestonfishingchartercompany.com

The good news about today is that it signals the end of January. This month resembled January's of long ago when winters were much harsher. Still, we should be thankful that we dodged a fish-killing freeze.

Thursday, the warming temperatures were offset by strong southerly winds, which I am afraid are going to be the fisherman’s nemesis in weeks to come rather than bitter cold weather.

Like many of you, the urge to wet a line is driving me crazy and to help get my fix for fishing, I gave in to Polly’s persistent requests for me to clean out my tackle room. Actually, it turned out to be a pleasant experience as I came across items I had forgotten about.

One of my old tackle boxes dates back to the late 1950s and is a metal Old Pal brand that was given to me while in elementary school.

While most of the tackle was designed for pier fishing, one item caught my attention — a can opener, or church key as they later were called, with Grand Prize Beer printed on it.

Old-timers recall that canned drinks back then came in tin cans and required a special opener. It reminded me of the day I lugged a heavy metal ice chest to the fishing piers and enjoyed golden-age strawberry sodas while fishing.

Other items that brought back memories were a metal fish stringer, circa 1955, and Heddon and Fred Arbogast lures, especially the famous jitterbug and Hula Popper. Neither lure ever had a hit, although they were used many times at the Herman Park Lake across from the Houston Zoo.

The journey continued through boxes of tackle that provided a visible history of my fishing, including my early days offshore.

I suppose the one thing that surprised me the most was an old Gulf Oil Company fishing map of the jetties. While it is barely legible, it lists the fish caught along the various sections of both jetties.

 Among them were Jew fish, pickerel and tarpon. The map was free and given out at Heights Tackle House in Houston.

Unfortunately, very little was thrown away, which was not what my better half had in mind.

Galveston Fishing Report

Galveston Fishing Charter Company

832-917-FISH

www.galvestonfishingchartercompany.com

Fishing reports have been hard to come by since the off-again, on-again freezing weather began more than a week ago. While there is some cold weather in the near-term forecast, there is no freezing weather predicted for the Galveston area for the next 10 days.

Once we get past the first week of February, we normally are in the clear as far as any severe freezes.

The thermometer has hit the freezing mark as late as March 21 in Galveston, but such conditions do not last long that late in the year. December and January are our worst months for fish-killing freezes and, apparently, one of our readers refreshed his memory as to how severe some of those freezes were.

Jud McCann, who is about three years my senior, called to talk about the severe freeze of 1962 when the Texas City Dike was frozen over and people were picking up stunned trout. He said he saw one person filling the back of a pickup with fish.

Interestingly, I recall the freeze he mentions; however, I thought it was in January 1963 when the Houston schools were closed and Metro bus service suspended. It was the coldest temperatures I had ever seen and, except for a trip to Calgary, Alberta, years later when I experienced minus-40 degree readings, it still is the coldest. I’m sure some of you will ask whether it was in centigrade or Fahrenheit. It does not matter because at minus-40 the two scales reach parity.

In Houston, we were worried more about our pipes than the fish in Galveston Bay. A lot has happened on the regulatory scene since then, and today it is illegal to take stunned fish by any means.

 During that era, Offatts Bayou produced a lot, and I mean lots, of trout during freezing weather.

 Today, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has the authority to close most of that body of water when freezing temperatures persist.

Spring cannot get here too quickly for me!

Galveston Fishing Report

Galveston Fishing Charter Company

832-917-FISH(3474)

www.galvestonfishingchartercompany.com

We are in that time of year when pan fish dominate the catches around the Galveston Bay Complex.

Yes, trout, reds and a few flounder will be showing up during windows of favorable conditions; however, black drum and whiting will soon begin to dominate the fishing reports.

Any day now, we should start hearing of more and more black drum moving up the Houston Ship Channel as February is normally when the annual run begins.

March tends to be the big month when anglers seeking the thrill of fighting an offshore caliber fish have the best opportunity to make a hook-up.

Around the same time, whiting make their run in the surf and many spring break visitors focus on the tasty, but generally small, fish.

The Henry Randolph family from Grand Prairie has spent their last five spring holidays from school on West Galveston Island, and among the activities they enjoy is fishing the surf for whiting.

Henry is originally from Grand Junction, Colo., and was accustomed to fishing for trout of about the same size in brooks and mountain streams nearby.

He equates a freshly cleaned, whole whiting pan fried to the best of the mountain trout he has caught.
“Clean them the same way as you do the small rainbow and brown trout, batter them in corn meal and fry whole in a cast iron skillet,” Randolph said. His family often eats them cooked that way for breakfast with eggs, biscuits and peach preserves.

On the fishing scene, the party boat Capt. John had a productive trip offshore last weekend.

A 36-hour tuna safari with 37 anglers aboard was made to fishing grounds more than 100 miles out of Galveston where Capt. Johnny Williams and his Co-Captain, Jill Williams, placed their guests to fish.

Their catch included 148 red snapper to 22 pounds, 179 black fin tuna along with king mackerel, pompano, amber-jack, grouper and other varieties of snapper.

Galveston Fishing Report

Galveston Fishing Charter Company

832-917-FISH(3474)

www.galvestonfishingchartercompany.com

Anglers frustrated with the erratic weather should not feel alone.

Monday, while waiting for roll call at jury duty, two different individuals approached me and asked when we could expect some decent weather for fishing.

My response? If they can find the answer to that pressing question please let me know as I, along with them, am getting a bad case of cabin fever while yearning for warmer weather.

Sunday was a nice day to get out; however, the water temperature still remained too cold for much in the way of action. Clear, sunny days are great for boating; however, usually they are not so good for catching fish.

Night action around lights has been the best bet for catching trout and reds lately. Reports from Jamaica Beach to the causeway indicate the fish are coming out of hiding to feed around lights that are attracting glass minnows and other small baitfish.

Kris King of Houston fished his uncle’s lighted dock at Jamaica Beach late Saturday night and caught several trout and two undersized reds using H&H Speck Rigs for bait.

Saturday night, there were a few fish caught off the pier next to the boat ramp on 61st Street. Sunny Yu reported he and two friends landed a good stringer of sand trout and black drum using dead shrimp and squid for bait. Yu said few bait camps were open late Saturday so the group had to leave after their bait was depleted.

An unconfirmed report from a caller told of good action on specks and reds at the Crash Basin on Sunday night. The bait of choice was purportedly live shrimp.

If the weather reports for today hold, it appears that we are in for no-fishing types of days through Wednesday.

Galveston Fishing Report

Galveston Fishing Charter Company

832-917-FISH(3474)

 www.galvestonfishingchartercompany.com

The commission decided not to propose a change to the current bag and size limits for trout on the Upper Texas Coast, which includes the Galveston Bay Complex and Sabine Lake.

A proposal was adopted to extend the current five-fish bag limit for trout that exists in the Lower Laguna Madre to FM 457 near Sargent.
  
The proposed reduced bag limit includes all of the coastal waters south of that point, including all of Matagorda Bay and the Middle Texas Coast.

The situation is different for flounder. The current November daily bag limit of two fish per angler is proposed to be extended to include the first two weeks of December. Flounder gigging, which is banned during November, will continue to be allowed to resume in December.

Scoping meetings conducted by the TPWD along the Upper Texas Coast indicated a strong opposition by anglers to any changes in the current regulations for either trout or flounder.

The proposed changes will be voted on at the March meeting of the Commission and, if passed, take effect Sept. 1.

In fishing news, Julie Beaman of Bayou Vista sent a note telling of her recent fishing experiences.

“One day we have icicles hanging from the house eaves, the next day I have a cooler full of beauties,” Beaman said, adding that she caught three reds, 24 to 29 inches, and four speckled trout 24 to 30 inches Saturday night fishing under the lights in Bayou Vista.

Mirrolure 52M28 and a ratly-jointed lure thing she found on the sidewalk that a monster red decided to take with it were the lures.

“At least I took a picture of the lure before I lost it,” she said.

We assume that she used a tag on the largest red, and only one of the trout was larger than 25 inches.

Galveston Fishing Report

                                               Galveston Fishing Charter Company

                                                           832-917-FISH(3474)

                                          www.galvestonfishingchartercompany.com

Offatts Bayou appears to be producing trout for anglers fishing deep holes such as the Blue Hole off Moody Gardens.

  

Unconfirmed reports indicate that the well-known, deep-water pocket has produced several stringers of trout in the 15- to 19-inch category.

Hector Fritz was fishing off the 61st Street Boat Ramp when two anglers returned from their trip and showed him their ice chest with several nice trout ready for the cleaning table.

Fritz said the anglers only said that the trout came from Offatts; however, another fisherman nearby said he passed their boat while it was anchored in front of Moody Gardens.

Another report was called in reporting some fair action on trout in the 15- to 19-inch range being caught in Offatts late Saturday morning; however, no name was given.

We mention the deep pockets of Offatts Bayou often in the Reel Report as trout will congregate there during periods of very low temperatures and low tides.

  

Friday and Saturday should have met the criteria, as the water temperature in the bay ranged from the low to upper 40s in most parts of the Galveston Bay Complex.

While a southwest wind is generally poor for fishing, a switch to that direction Saturday allowed the water levels to rise a bit following the emptying of the bays by the strong north wind that accompanied the recent cold front.

For fishing to improve considerably there will need to be a significant warming trend that moves the water temperatures to the 60-degree range.

  

It does not look good for that to take place until perhaps next weekend.

Once water levels increase and warm, look for the Confederate Reef Triangle in Upper West Bay to hold trout as the fish will come out of their safe refuges to feed.

  

Mud bottoms should be the choice over shell or sand bottoms, as the water warms more quickly in those areas.

Galveston Fishing Report

 Galveston Fishing Charter Company
832-917-FISH (3474)

                                                www.galvestonfishingchartercompany.com

 Friday morning, as I was driving along the seawall, I noticed two shrimp boats a few miles off the beachfront and thought to myself, “What a way to make a living.”

The temperature was 32 degrees with misting rain driven by a strong, penetrating north wind.

All I have to say is I hope they had a good catch and got paid well for it.

The only other fishing taking place Friday was by birds working something in Offatts Bayou.

My guess is that it was stunned shad or other bait fish.

Following up on Wednesday’s column where we asked readers to share information on fishing reel repair services in Galveston County, not much feedback was received.

During the process I visited with Capt. Lloyd Pepper, who is known for his quality rods and also rod repairs.

I mentioned to Pepper that at one time there were numerous rod and reel repair places in and around Galveston.

It seems while there are several rod repair services remaining, most of the reel repair shops are gone.
Pepper, who once cleaned and repaired reels, said the big problem was maintaining an inventory of parts.

Years ago, if you had an inventory of parts for Ambassador, Mitchell and Shakespeare reels, that just about covered the major players in the market.

Today, there are a large number of reel manufacturers, and the overhead to maintain a complete inventory of parts can be overwhelming to a mom-and-pop business.

Responses from readers indicated that Serious Tackle in La Marque is one of a few places close to Galveston that works on reels.

Fishing Tackle Unlimited near Beltway 8 in Houston also was mentioned; however, it is a good distance away.

A reminder to boaters, this time of year most boats are out of operation for long periods of time, and your gasoline tank should have an adequate amount of fuel stabilizer mixed in with the gasoline.

Ethanol-blend gasoline does not set up very well, and a good stabilizer will increase the life of such fuel and will aid in the prevention water absorption.

Galveston Fishing Report

                                              Galveston Fishing Charter Company
                                                         832-917-FISH (3474)
                                         www.galvestonfishingchartercompany.com
 Late Thursday evening, gale warnings were posted for north winds expected to reach more than 40 knots. Today, a slight drop in velocity is forecast; however, the wind is still well more than the velocities considered safe on the water.
Sounds like there will be no fishing activity today. And, unfortunately, once the winds settle, the water levels likely will be close to all-time lows. It doesn’t take long for 40 knot north or west winds to push the water out.

Next week’s forecast does not offer much encouragement as another strong cold front is expected early in the week.

Well, so much for serious fishing for a while, and that is not good news at the Kent household.

Thursday, I opened the freezer to pull out some frozen fish for the evening meal and low and behold, only one package remained. It was a medium-sized flounder that has been in there since Thanksgiving weekend.

In most years, my freezer stays stocked until sometime in February, and then it is normally just a short time before the shelves are restocked with fresh trout or reds.

Not this year.

As soon as the weather settles, and hopefully it will not be very long, I will be out on a mission to get fillets for the freezer. Sand trout and whiting are going to be very appealing soon, and if you have not tried either, don’t make fun of it. They are delicious table fare. Sand trout are best eaten before freezing, while whiting can withstand the freezer.

During a window of light winds and calm seas, a trip to one of the offshore wells or platforms will be in order. There almost always is a bounty of fish that satisfies the yearnings of sport and adds menu items for the freezer.

Until we see a return to fish-able conditions, stay warm!

Glaveston Fishing Report

Galveston Fishing Charter Company
832-917-FISH (3474)
www.galvestonfishingchartercomapny.com

 Wednesday turned out to be a window of opportunity for fishermen to hit the water, and the few who were able to take advantage of the nice conditions caught fish.

Marion Ramsey called in to say while the water levels were low, there was much improvement over Tuesday.

Ramsey and a friend fished about 100 yards out from the North Jetty boat cut on the channel side and landed two bull reds and an oversized black drum using cut mullet for bait. All of the fish were released.

When they returned to the boat ramp, the cleaning table had a number of sand trout and small black drum caught by an angler who fished from the dock.

The dates for this year’s big drum tournament have been set. The Turning Point Gulf Coast fundraiser is scheduled for April 4-5. Fishing takes place April 5 with emphasis on providing a fun fishing trip for the physically disadvantaged.

Boat captains who wish to help with this event should call Dutch Kueteman, 409-935-7309. Anyone interested in donating auction and raffle items should call David Gaston, at 409-939-4827. To donate an item or cash mail Turning Point Gulf Coast, P.O. Box 2118, Galveston, TX 77553

The West End Anglers’ Big Trout Tournament, benefiting the Texana Children’s Center for Autism, is Saturday. The event will be from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Sea Isle Marina. For information or to register call-713-594-4252 or visit www.fishwestend.com.

Galveston Fishing Report form Galveston Fishing Charter Company

                                                    Galveston Fishing Charter Company
                                                             832-917-FISH (3474)
                                              www.galvestonfishingchartercompany.com


While the holiday weekend offered some excellent weather for fishing, it was short lived as another cold front blasted its way through Galveston on Tuesday.

Unfortunately, even colder weather is on its way later this week, and the prospects for fishing this weekend look dismal at this point.

Low water levels will be a given with each of the fronts.

Tuesday afternoon, the water was at one of its lowest levels in West Bay, with the pilings of the old wagon bridge visible from the causeway bridge.

While we like to be optimistic on the fishing scene, this time of year, with the frequent emptying of the low lands by the numerous cold fronts, fishing is usually at its worst.

Although our main objective is to pass on fishing information to you, during this period we will take the opportunity to visit on issues of general interest to local fishermen.

A frequent question from readers is about recommendations for reel repairs and servicing here in Galveston County.

There appears to have been a decline in the number of fishing reel technicians operating in Galveston County.

Today, about the only one I am familiar with is Serious Tackle in La Marque. Chris Gonzales, the owner, offers excellent service on a wide range of reels and has worked on many of my rods and reels.

If anyone knows of and recommends other rod and reel repair facilities in Galveston County, please let us know and that information will be published.

Speaking of service, this would be an excellent time to have service performed on your boats and motors.

Warm weather will be here before we know it, and that is not the time you will want to give up the boat.

Galveston Fishing Report

                                                  Galveston Fishing Charter Company
                                                            832-917-FISH (3474)
                                             www.galvestonfishingchartercompany.com

 It was mentioned in Monday’s Reel Report that the water in West Bay and other parts of the Galveston Bay Complex was just as beautiful as it gets.

Well, the fish thought so as well, and a flurry of trout action took place in parts of Upper West Bay, Hall’s Bayou and around Campbell’s Bayou.

Reds were hitting in Jones Lake and Moses Lake along with the Galveston Ship Channel.

Jetty Joe, Galveston Bait and Tackle, had three groups of fishermen return to his camp with some nice trout.

Timmy Howell and Charlie Drew of Santa Fe fished Hall’s Bayou and landed 15 trout to more than 4 pounds, and a flounder that obviously chose to stay home and not be part of the annual flounder migration. Down South Lures in the color pink was the bait.

Speaking of Down South Lures, the inventor of that popular bait was one of the anglers with a big catch in West Bay.

Using not only pink color, but plum and chartreuse as well, he landed a full limit of trout. The bait camp only referred to his name as Mike, no last name given.

The bait camp reported an angler only by the name of Jesus from Houston landing a 25-pound bull red at the Galveston Ship Channel, using dead mullet for bait.

Forney Sanderson of Hitchcock fished Jones Lake early Sunday and caught so many rat reds he lost count.

No legal-sized reds were caught, and the bait was live shrimp fished under a popping cork.

Moses Lake was productive for Jaime Morales, who landed two reds and a black drum using dead shrimp for bait.

Carl Brooks and Marty Green fished the mouth of Campbell’s Bayou on Sunday afternoon and ended up with nice speckled trout and two undersized reds.

Galveston Fishing Report

                                              Galveston Fishing Charter Company
                                                       832-917-FISH (3474)
                                         www.galvestonfishingchartercompany.com

Another gorgeous day greeted anglers on Sunday.

Visitors to the island crossing the causeway must have compared Galveston to one of the Caribbean Islands as the blue-green water of Galveston Bay caught their eyes.

With the water temperature continuing to remain in the low 50s, fishing has been limited to our basic wintertime fish. Whiting, sheepshead, black drum, sand trout and an occasional speck and red have been the norm lately.

It felt like old times when I read the fishing report from the Party Boat Capt. John on Sunday as it has been many years since red snapper could be retained in January. Early on when the Gulf Council set seasons for red snapper, the start date was April 21, then it moved to June 1. Regardless of the start day the season never lasted past October, and now it runs less than a month and a half.

Williams Party Boats is part of an experimental, or pilot, program where selected vessels are given a quota on red snapper and can fish all year in order to catch their allocation. Once the quota is caught, that is it for red snapper on that particular vessel for the remainder of the year.

Other party boats are restricted to the season designated for red snapper; however, they are limited only to the two fish bag limit and not a quota during the short season.

Saturday’s trip was to the sunken ship, V.A. Fogg, about 40 miles south of the jetties, with a stop at the old Buccaneer Field, about 26 miles away and in the general direction of the old ship that now is a haven for divers and fishermen.

The 82 anglers aboard returned with 162 red snapper along with 18 Gulf trout, vermilion snapper and a triggerfish. A bull red was caught and released. John Pennington of Pearland limited out on red snapper to 19 pounds.

Galveston Fishing Report

                                                  Galveston Fishing Charter Company
                                                            832-917-FISH (3474)
                                              www.galvestonfishingchartercompany.com

Saturday, with its sunny skies and mild afternoon temperatures, was too enticing to a number of anglers who hit the water late morning.

Those who stayed with it until mid-afternoon caught fish as the action started around 3 p.m.

A variety of fish were reported, including trout, reds, sheepshead and black drum.

Water at the North Jetty was in excellent shape, reported Mark Sinclair who, along with two friends, landed five sheepshead and four black drum. Live shrimp fished along the rocks on the channel side did the trick.

The bend at the U.S. Coast Guard Station was a productive spot for Tom Petty and his wife, Paula.

Using both live and dead shrimp for bait, the couple from La Marque landed three black drum and six sand trout.

The channel along Sportsmen’s Road produced some nice specks and a slot red for Mike Hornburg and his son James. WD-40 Bass Assassins was the top bait.

Galveston Bait and Tackle reported good catches of sheepshead, trout and black drum from around the causeway and railroad bridges. Live shrimp was the preferred bait.

Robert Hernandez and his family fished the rocks at the base of the causeway bridge, Galveston side, Friday night and caught sand trout, black drum and sheepshead. Dead shrimp and squid were the baits.

Joe Hurlbert had been yearning to get his new boat in the water and Saturday he finally made it out.

Hulbert and his daughter Jackie and her fiancé Nick Foster, rode the Intracoastal Canal and eventually made their way up a long canal just west of Carancahua Lake where they fished for a while and landed numerous undersized reds and whiting.

Hurlbert said that while none of the fish were retained, it was good to feel a fish on the line.

It appears that our holiday weekend will be excellent for getting on the water with mild temperatures and light winds.

Galveston Fishing Report

                                                    Galveston Fishing Charter Company
                                                             832-917-FISH(3474)
                                              www.galvestonfishingchartercompany.com



Another cold front crossed the Upper Texas Coast on Friday and set things back, as conditions were beginning to improve Thursday.

If the forecast for today holds, a light east wind should be pushing water back into the bays and, hopefully, triggering some movement by trout.

Anglers anxious to get back on the water this weekend should find some fair to good action around the jetties and other deep pockets of water. Sheepshead should be a good target.

Thursday, there was a report from Stan Cardinos, who, along with Frederick Miles, drifted some of the deeper reefs in East Bay using live shrimp for bait.

Cardinos said the morning action was very slow, with only a large sand trout hitting their baits; however, the afternoon was a different story.

Just about the time they planned to call it quits around 3 p.m., the trout started biting. By 4:30 p.m., they had 11 specks in the fish box, and the fish were still biting as they reeled in their lines and headed back to the boat ramp.

All of the fish were caught in 8 feet of water above shell reefs.

A reader asked about unconfirmed fishing reports. He often has seen the term in this column and was curious about what we mean by it.

When we mention an unconfirmed report, it is basically a second-hand report by someone who has not actually seen the catch. An example of one recently came from a gentleman in Jamaica Beach who called in, giving his name and saying his neighbor told him that night fishermen were hammering trout under the lights on the bay side of the subdivision.

The distinction between that report and a confirmed report, although we rarely use the term confirmed report, lies in the basics of who, what, when and where. An example would be where an individual calls in a report, gives their name and information that indicates that he or she actually caught the fish or saw the catch of another angler or anglers and relays first-hand information.

Galveston Fishing Report form Galveston Fishing Charter Company

                                                 Galveston Fishing Charter Company
                                                            832-917-FISH(3474)
                                            www.galvestonfishingchartercompany.com


 The full moon that has brought picturesque beauty around the Galveston Bay Complex added to the woes of fishermen Thursday morning, as is typically the situation following clear nights with bright moonlight.

Our only confirmed fishing report came from Glen Goff, Galveston Bait and Tackle, who reported limits of trout to 7 pounds taken by Kenny Howell at the causeway bridge Wednesday. Howell released five more and took a limit last Tuesday.

Several unconfirmed nighttime reports were received of all sizes of trout being caught. Most of the reports came from lighted areas along deeper channels.

With the otherwise generally slow fishing, this presents an opportunity to address complaints about nighttime anglers. Most come from owners of piers and boat docks with fishing lights and from residents of canal subdivisions.

The most common complaint is the lack of respect a few anglers have for the property of others. In particular, tying up to docks without permission and fishing from the dock or pier. Lots of thefts are attributed to these purported trespassers, as well as leaving trash and debris for others to pick up.

While there is nothing to keep boaters in the water from fishing around lighted areas, one of the big complaints is damage to underwater lights. When a hook penetrates the electric cord, the damage is done.

One resident on Offatts Bayou observed individuals in a boat hook his underwater light and drag it to their boat where they immediately cut the cord to free a lure.

Speaking of fishing lights, an ongoing problem around canal subdivisions is the invasion of privacy from high-powered fishing lights, such as stadium lights.

Other complaints come from homeowners on canals being awakened in the middle of the night by night fishermen listening to music and creating other noise.

The point of all of this is that night fishing can be fun and productive; however, night anglers need to be aware of the surroundings and act as good citizens. Respect the property of others and, if you should damage something, don’t run away. Think about how you would feel if it was happening to you.

Galveston Fishing Report

Water levels in the Galveston Bay Complex were just about as low as they get Wednesday. Again anglers were looking at bright, sunny skies, low water levels and a brisk, cold north wind. That combination is never good for fishing.

It appears that conditions will not improve until this weekend when a wind shift to the south and east will bring warmer Gulf waters back into the bays.

Saturday and Sunday might turn out to be a window of opportunity for catching trout and reds along the shorelines. When the water begins to warm and rise, fish will begin prowling the shallows again in search of food.

While we can expect things to be slow, this is a good time of year for sheepshead all around Galveston. The jetties, causeway bridges and barnacle-infested pilings and docks will be attracting the “jail birds” as they are called because of the white stripes along their sides.

I recall back in the 1970s visiting a friend at the Galveston Yacht Basin where he had his boat docked and seeing good numbers of sheepshead feeding along the barnacle-covered concrete pilings. We purchased some dead shrimp from the bait camp nearby and as soon as we dropped our lines in the water, both of us had a large sheepshead hooked.

After an hour or so, we had 15 in a big tub, and then the fun began.

It was the first time I had cleaned one of the fish. After the painstaking process of cleaning three, I bemoaned the fact that we kept so many. That was back then and today, there is a bag limit of five per person with a minimum length of 15 inches.

Sheepshead have turned out to be one of my favorite fish to grill. For grilling sheepshead, the cleaning process gets easier. First scale the fish, then cut the head off, remove the entrails and place the fish over a hot bed of coals. The heat sears the skin, leaving delicious white meat to enjoy.

Galveston Fishing Report

Conditions appeared good for fishing this morning; however, fog was the culprit in keeping fishermen off of the water.

Later in the day a cold front cleared out the mess and, with the accompanying gusty winds, it was a bit too much for most folks to handle.

After reading Monday’s column about the wintertime fishing Galveston area anglers enjoy with whiting and sand trout, Jeff Carlson asked about how and where to fish for those two species of fish.

Carlson recently moved to League City from Plano and enjoys freshwater fishing and now is interested in learning about fishing Galveston Bay.

Sand trout and whiting are two of the most common fish around the Galveston Bay Complex and offer excellent table fare along with the pleasure of catching your own meal.

Both fish are known as pan fish, which means they are not game fish and are sought after for the frying pan. Both are fairly easy to catch and will hit a variety of baits.

There likely are more of these fish caught using dead shrimp than any other bait.

Peeled shrimp, that is dead shrimp with the shell peeled back to the small tail, is an added attraction for whiting.

Both tend to be bottom feeders, especially this time of year.

Small hooks such as size 8 and 10 treble hooks and 4/0 and 5/0 J-hooks work best for these relatively small fish.

The state recordfor sand trout is 6.25 pounds, and for the southern whiting is a mere 3.62 pounds.

Pan fish rigs are a good choice for anglers trying to catch both fish.

The rig is a double- hook lightweight fishing rig with snaps for both the hooks and a weight.

Almost any pier, dock or rock groin is a good candidate for holding one or both fish.

They are abundant, reproduce prolifically and have no bag or size limit.

This is a good time to go for the great tasting little fish.

Galveston Fishing Report

We are entering the time of year when saltwater inshore fishing tends to be the slowest.

The winter doldrums, as it is called, occurs because so many of our fish have headed to deeper waters along with crabs.

When enough of the strong cold fronts pass through and empty the marshes, this tends to send fish to more stable areas where the water is less affected by the passing cold fronts.

Trout are one of the species that stay in the bays year-round and do not head for the warmer waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

Experienced trout fishermen know where to look for trout year-round and, while this time of year is challenging, most of the time they can find where they are feeding.

A common pattern this time of year is for trout to hang around deep refuges like channels and pockets of deep water that exist in parts of Offatts Bayou and man-made harbors.

Serious trout fishermen tend to favor the late afternoon within two to three hours of sunset as the water is usually the warmest of the day and baitfish tend to be in the shallow waters that are quickly warmed by bright sunlight.

This also is a time when trophy trout start to show up along the shorelines.

Two species in particular are known for saving the day and providing some excellent tablefare during the winter; sand trout and whiting.

Both fish are widely distributed along the Upper Texas Coast and do not require live bait to catch.
Fresh dead shrimp is an excellent choice for both and for whiting, peeling the shell back to the tail offers an added attraction for the tasty little fish.

Reds also are a wintertime fish and can be caught in the same areas where trout roam during the day.

Galveston Fishing Report

Saturday was quite a contrast in weather.

Early morning fog kept most anglers off of the water; however, once the fog lifted, spring-like weather set in with temperatures rising into the 70s with sunny skies.

The nice weather attracted a lot of fishermen later in the day and the only reports that came in by Saturday afternoon were of mainly sheepshead and reds being caught.

Mark Austin and J.D. Whitsette fished the North Jetty Boat Cut and landed six keeper sheepshead and a bull red using dead shrimp for bait.

Anglers fishing from the 61st Street Boat Ramp on Offatts Bayou were catching sheepshead and small black drum.

Friday, Laverne Williams and Sandie Hancock fished the Texas City Dike and caught sand trout, whiting and hard head catfish. Cut squid was their choice of bait.

Many anglers were concerned about the effects of the freezing weather last week on trout. So far, there have been no reports of any significant fish kills. Thursday night while attending the scoping meeting at the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Dickinson facility, I asked a group of their personnel about the freeze and they confirmed that there had been no reports of any problems and did not expect to hear of any related to the freeze.

The near-term forecast favors fishing. With the quickly changing weather, one day cold and the next warm, it is difficult to predict where the action will take place.

Upper West Bay should return to the excellent trout fishing that took place prior to the cold weather Moses Lake has been consistent for reds this month and should continue to be one of the prime spots for the remainder of January.

Galveston Fishing Report

Here it is January and nice-sized flounder still are being taken from West Bay. New Year’s night Kallen Cram, his dad Kenny and grandfather Cleo Templet took advantage of the calm conditions and went flounder gigging in West Bay.  

Their harvest for the evening was eight nice-sized flatfish typical for a trip in October. There is no doubt that not all flounder will leave the bays in the winter, especially if a food supply is available.

An explanation for this could be that the fish are returning earlier than usual from their Gulf spawn.

Phil Ortiz, who most consider an expert on flounder fishing, once told me that he believes that there is a continuous return migration once the big females spawn.

  

If that is the case, it could explain why we are seeing more flounder in the bays this winter.

Bull reds still are roaming the surf and that certainly is not unusual. Corinna from the 61st Street Fishing Pier called in to report their first bull red landing for the New Year. Khyle Gibbs caught the fish Wednesday night while using cut mullet for bait. Also lots of whiting were being caught from the pier.

Wednesday night, there was a flurry of action on trout under the lights around several locations including the Crash Basin, Teichman Point, English Bayou and along Sportsman’s Road.  

Connie Ralston and his son Conrad fished the Pelican Island Bridge area New Year’s Eve afternoon and landed 13 large sand trout and several small whiting using dead shrimp for bait.

The near term outlook for fishing is not promising due to cold, windy weather. The good news is that the forecasts do not call from any coastal freezes. Continuing temperatures in the 40s could move a lot of fish into Offatts Bayou and parts of Moses Lake. Both areas are known for their cold weather fishing.

Galveston Fishing Bolg

The New Year started off with what appeared to be excellent conditions for fishing.

A light east wind and water temperatures in the low 50s were the norm most of the day, and our only hotspot for fishing was Moses Lake.

Norman Mason and Chad Hall fished Moses near the flood gates and landed five reds, three keepers and two throwbacks, using live shrimp for bait.

The anglers from Hitchcock completed their catch with two puppy drum, which were landed and released.

Tuesday, David Morris fished just inside the flood gates and landed a 23-inch red and several sand trout using dead shrimp for bait.

Another area that has been producing some nice pan fish is the diversionary canal below the Harborwalk Bridge.

Unconfirmed reports indicated a good concentration of sand trout and a few flounder are being found by anglers willing to fish late afternoon.

You may recall, Sunday my offshore trip 40 miles out was not productive; however, about 30 or so miles farther out, the fish were biting.

On Dec. 28, the party boat New Buccaneer fished the Claypile Bank where the 50 anglers aboard caught a variety of fish.

Among the catch brought back were 363 vermilion snapper, five amberjacks to 30 pounds, two rockhinds, two trigger fish and two Porgies.

Released were a 100-pound sandbar shark and a 40-pound blacktip.

Capt. Paul Marcaccio will be conducting one of his Galveston Bay Fishing Seminars at Fishing Tackle Unlimited, 11700 Gulf Freeway, on Jan. 18.

The seminar costs $75 per person and runs from 8:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. and includes lunch, free tackle and door prizes. For more information call 281-788-4041.